USC Chapter 5

in effect

25 U.S.C. § 174 Superintendence by President over tribes west of Mississippi

The President is authorized to exercise general superintendence and care over any tribe or nation which was removed upon an exchange of territory under authority of the act of May 28, 1830, “to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the States or Territories, and for their removal west of the Mississippi;” and to cause such tribe or nation to be protected, at their new residence, against all interruption or disturbance from any other tribe or nation of Indians, or from any other person or persons whatever.

25 U.S.C. § 175 United States attorneys to represent Indians

In all States and Territories where there are reservations or allotted Indians the United States attorney shall represent them in all suits at law and in equity.

25 U.S.C. § 176 Survey of reservations

Whenever it becomes necessary to survey any Indian or other reservations, or any lands, the same shall be surveyed under the direction and control of the Bureau of Land Management, and as nearly as may be in conformity to the rules and regulations under which other public lands are surveyed.

25 U.S.C. § 177 Purchases or grants of lands from Indians

No purchase, grant, lease, or other conveyance of lands, or of any title or claim thereto, from any Indian nation or tribe of Indians, shall be of any validity in law or equity, unless the same be made by treaty or convention entered into pursuant to the Constitution. Every person who, not being employed under the authority of the United States, attempts to negotiate such treaty or convention, directly or indirectly, or to treat with any such nation or tribe of Indians for the title or purchase of any lands by them held or claimed, is liable to a penalty of $1,000. The agent of any State who may be present at any treaty held with Indians under the authority of the United States, in the presence and with the approbation of the commissioner of the United States appointed to hold the same, may, however, propose to, and adjust with, the Indians the compensation to be made for their claim to lands within such State, which shall be extinguished by treaty.

25 U.S.C. § 178 Fees on behalf of Indian parties in contests under public land laws

In contests initiated by or against Indians, to an entry, filing or other claims, under the laws of Congress relating to public lands for any sufficient cause affecting the legality or validity of the entry, filing or claim, the fees to be paid by and on behalf of the Indian party in any case shall be one-half of the fees provided by law in such cases, and said fees shall be paid by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, on an account stated by the proper land officers through the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate.

25 U.S.C. § 179 Driving stock to feed on lands

Every person who drives or otherwise conveys any stock of horses, mules, or cattle, to range and feed on any land belonging to any Indian or Indian tribe, without the consent of such tribe, is liable to a penalty of $1 for each animal of such stock. This section shall not apply to Creek lands.

25 U.S.C. § 180 Settling on or surveying lands belonging to Indians by treaty

Every person who makes a settlement on any lands belonging, secured, or granted by treaty with the United States to any Indian tribe, or surveys or attempts to survey such lands, or to designate any of the boundaries by marking trees, or otherwise, is liable to a penalty of $1,000. The President may, moreover, take such measures and employ such military force as he may judge necessary to remove any such person from the lands.

25 U.S.C. § 181 Rights of white men marrying Indian women; tribal property

No white man, not otherwise a member of any tribe of Indians, who may after August 9, 1888, marry an Indian woman, member of any Indian tribe in the United States, or any of its Territories except the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory, shall by such marriage after August 9, 1888, acquire any right to any tribal property, privilege, or interest whatever to which any member of such tribe is entitled.

25 U.S.C. § 182 Rights of Indian women marrying white men; tribal property

Every Indian woman, member of any such tribe of Indians, who may be married after August 9, 1888, to any citizen of the United States, is hereby declared to become by such marriage a citizen of the United States, with all the rights, privileges, and immunities of any such citizen, being a married woman: Provided, That nothing in sections 181 to 183 of this title contained shall impair or in any way affect the right or title of such married woman to any tribal property or any interest therein.

25 U.S.C. § 183 Marriage of white men to Indian women; evidence

Whenever the marriage of any white man with any Indian woman, a member of any such tribe of Indians, is required or offered to be proved in any judicial proceeding, evidence of the admission of such fact by the party against whom the proceeding is had, or evidence of general repute, or of cohabitation as married persons, or any other circumstantial or presumptive evidence from which the fact may be inferred, shall be competent.

25 U.S.C. § 184 Rights of children born of marriages between white men and Indian women

All children born of a marriage solemnized prior to June 7, 1897, between a white man and an Indian woman by blood and not by adoption, where said Indian woman was on that date, or was at the time of her death, recognized by the tribe, shall have the same rights and privileges to the property of the tribe to which the mother belongs, or belonged at the time of her death, by blood, as any other member of the tribe, and no prior Act of Congress shall be construed as to debar such child of such right.

25 U.S.C. § 185 Protection of Indians desiring civilized life

Whenever any Indian, being a member of any band or tribe with whom the Government has or shall have entered into treaty stipulations, being desirous to adopt the habits of civilized life, has had a portion of the lands belonging to his tribe allotted to him in severalty, in pursuance of such treaty stipulations, the agent and superintendent of such tribe shall take such measures, not inconsistent with law, as may be necessary to protect such Indian in the quiet enjoyment of the lands so allotted to him.

25 U.S.C. § 190 Sale of plants or tracts not needed for administrative or allotment purposes

Subject to applicable regulations under chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3306(f), 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4104, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized in his discretion to sell and convey by deed or patent, under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, at not less than their appraised value, nonreservation Government tracts or plants or tribal administrative plants or reserves, or parts thereof, not exceeding forty acres in area and not exceeding $2,000 in value, not longer needed for Indian administrative or allotment purposes, and small unallotted tracts not exceeding forty acres, where a sale will serve the tribal interests. All sales made under this section shall be at public auction, to the highest and best bidder. And the Secretary of the Interior is further authorized, where a tract to be disposed of under this section or any other Act authorizing the disposition of tribal lands requires survey as basis for a deed or patent, to accept from the grantee, in addition to the purchase price, an amount sufficient to cover the survey costs. The net proceeds of sale of any tribal site, plant, or tract shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians owning the same, to be disposed of for their benefit in accordance with existing law.

25 U.S.C. § 192 Sale by agents of cattle or horses not required

The agent of each tribe of Indians, lawfully residing in the Indian country, is authorized to sell for the benefit of such Indians any cattle, horses, or other livestock belonging to the Indians, and not required for their use and subsistence, under such regulations as shall be established by the Secretary of the Interior. But no such sale shall be made so as to interfere with the execution of any order lawfully issued by the Secretary of the Army, connected with the movement or subsistence of troops.

25 U.S.C. § 193 Proceedings against goods seized for certain violations

When goods or other property shall be seized for any violation of title 28 of the Revised Statutes it shall be lawful for the person prosecuting on behalf of the United States to proceed against such goods, or other property, in the manner directed to be observed in the case of goods, wares, or merchandise brought into the United States in violation of the revenue laws.

25 U.S.C. § 194 Trial of right of property; burden of proof

In all trials about the right of property in which an Indian may be a party on one side, and a white person on the other, the burden of proof shall rest upon the white person, whenever the Indian shall make out a presumption of title in himself from the fact of previous possession or ownership.

25 U.S.C. § 196 Sale or other disposition of dead timber

The President of the United States may from year to year in his discretion under such regulations as he may prescribe authorize the Indians residing on reservations or allotments, the fee to which remains in the United States, to fell, cut, remove, sell or otherwise dispose of the dead timber standing, or fallen, on such reservation or allotment for the sole benefit of such Indian or Indians. But whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that such timber has been killed, burned, girdled, or otherwise injured for the purpose of securing its sale under this section then in that case such authority shall not be granted.

25 U.S.C. § 197 Disposition of dead timber on reservations in Minnesota

The Secretary of the Interior may in his discretion, from year to year, under such regulations as he may prescribe, authorize the Indians residing on any Indian reservation in the State of Minnesota, whether the same has been allotted in severalty or is still unallotted, to fell, cut, remove, sell, or otherwise dispose of the dead timber, standing or fallen on such reservation or any part thereof, for the sole benefit of such Indians; and he may also in like manner authorize the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota who have any interest or right in the proceeds derived from the sales of ceded Indian lands or the timber growing thereon, whereof the fee is still in the United States, to fell, cut, remove, or dispose of the dead timber, otherwise than by sale, standing or fallen, on such ceded land. But whenever there is reason to believe that such dead timber in either case has been killed, burned, girdled, or otherwise injured for the purpose of securing its sale under this section, then in that case authority shall not be granted.

25 U.S.C. § 198 Contagious and infectious diseases; quarantine

Whenever the Secretary of the Interior shall find any Indian afflicted with tuberculosis, trachoma, or other contagious or infectious diseases, he may, if in his judgment the health of the afflicted Indian or that of other persons require it, isolate or quarantine such afflicted Indian in a hospital or other place for treatment. The Secretary of the Interior may employ such means as may be necessary in the isolation, or quarantine, of such Indian, and it shall be the duty of such Indian so afflicted to obey any order or regulation made by the Secretary of the Interior in carrying out this provision.

25 U.S.C. § 199 Access to records of Five Civilized Tribes

The Secretary of the Interior, or his accredited representative, shall at all times have access to any books and records of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole Tribes, whether in possession of any of the officers of either of said tribes or any officer or custodian thereof, of the State of Oklahoma.

25 U.S.C. § 199a Custody of records; Oklahoma Historical Society

Title to records of Indian tribes heretofore placed with the Oklahoma Historical Society of the State of Oklahoma by the Secretary of the Interior shall remain vested in the United States and such records shall be held by the said society under rules and regulations prescribed by the Archivist of the United States: Provided, That copies of any such records, documents, books, or papers held by the said society when certified by the secretary or chief clerk thereof under its seal, or by the officer or person acting as secretary or chief clerk, shall be evidence equally with the original, and in making such certified copies the said secretary or acting secretary and the said chief clerk or acting chief clerk shall be acting as a Federal agent, and such certified copies shall have the same force and effect as if made by the Archivist of the United States as provided in section 2116(b) of title 44: Provided further, That whenever such certified copies are desired for official use by the Federal Government they shall be furnished without cost: Provided further, That any such records held by the said society shall be promptly returned to the Government official designated by the Archivist of the United States upon his request therefor.

25 U.S.C. § 200 Report of offense or case of Indian incarcerated in agency jail

Whenever an Indian shall be incarcerated in an agency jail, or any other place of confinement, on an Indian reservation or at an Indian school, a report or record of the offense or case shall be immediately submitted to the superintendent of the reservation or such official or officials as he may designate, and such report shall be made a part of the records of the agency office.

25 U.S.C. § 201 Penalties; how recovered

All penalties which shall accrue under title 28 of the Revised Statutes shall be sued for and recovered in an action in the nature of an action of debt, in the name of the United States, before any court having jurisdiction of the same, in any State or Territory in which the defendant shall be arrested or found, the one half to the use of the informer and the other half to the use of the United States, except when the prosecution shall be first instituted on behalf of the United States, in which case the whole shall be to their use.

25 U.S.C. § 202 Inducing conveyances by Indians of trust interests in lands

It shall be unlawful for any person to induce any Indian to execute any contract, deed, mortgage, or other instrument purporting to convey any land or any interest therein held by the United States in trust for such Indian, or to offer any such contract, deed, mortgage, or other instrument for record in the office of any recorder of deeds. Any person violating this provision shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500 for the first offense, and if convicted for a second offense may be punished by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. This section shall not apply to any lease or other contract authorized by law to be made.